Hey guys,
This chapter took longer than I thought. It should have been up a long time ago, but I had to rewrite nearly the whole thing because I lost the original file on a computer that's now broken. It took me a while to re-motivate myself to write it again, but I finally got it done. Enjoy, R&R, etc.
Uzuki Cheverie
Time Gate: The Adult Chapters
Chapter 9: The Angels' Final Song
I feel. . . like fainting.
Maybe fainting would be the wise choice in this situation. Maybe it could help me escape from this nightmare that's taking place right before my eyes. The nightmare that, after pinching myself and biting my lip as hard as I can to the point of cutting it, I realize is real. Too real.
My heart begins to race from shock and despair, my legs trembling and letting go from beneath me as I fall to my knees on the ashen-covered ground, and then finally fall so far that I have to use my hands to support myself. The ground is hot and dry, the ashes dirtying my hands like soot from a dead fire in a wood stove. I'm trembling all over now, my arms and legs shaking, as if I was cold. But the temperature here is high, and rising. I reach up to my forehead to wipe away the forming sweat from the heat and the fear. I trace the sweat down to my cheek, and realize that I'm not only sweating, but crying too. The tears are falling from my eyes, and are evaporating as quickly as they formed from the intense heat of this place. This place, which used to be the land of the Angels, the kingdom of Kalasia.
It's nothing but ashen waste now.
Even the castle, which used to stand high and mighty like a guardian to the Angels, has been reduced to one single building that is still remarkably standing; the throne room. All the other rooms and hallways are either barely standing or are crumbled all the way into the ground.
I wanted to bring her here. I wanted to bring Zelda here some day. That's what I had promised myself; now not only had I failed to keep that promise, I had failed to protect the Angels as well. Even if the Kai's and Osmonts had only shown me hospitality for a little bit, I felt like I had made some sort of deep connection with them.
Like they were some sort of family to me.
But I had failed them. And now, all of them could be dead.
An idea suddenly sparks into my head. They could all be dead . . . but they could all be alive as well. The Angels have ways of predicting the future, of detecting danger in the air. They could have easily escaped. Maybe not all of them, but a few here and there. The King and Queen could be alive. Kurenai and Matsuda could be alive. The Osmonts could be alive. They could all be alive.
Hope starts to well inside me like a growing fire, and the trembling in my arms and legs slowly starts to stop. I feel a gentle hand touch my back. I look up to see Zelda looking down at me, a look of sympathy and worry on her face.
"Link," she says, with the same straight but sympathetic look on her face. "I don't know how important the Angels were to you . . . but I know the pain of losing people that are important to you. . ." She lowers down onto her knees so that she's eye level with me. "I promise that I'll help you find them, even if they are. . ." She stops, her sympathetic look getting crossed over with a stern one. I can tell she doesn't want to say the word 'dead'.
"We just have to hope for the best," I mutter. The trembling completely stopped, I start to stand up again, Zelda's hand retreating from my back. "Zelda, I want you to help me find them. All of them; all of the Angels that survived this."
A smile tugs at Zelda's lips. "Okay, I'll help you." She takes the trenchcoat that's tied around her waist and lifts it up, sliding her arms into the sleeves and buttoning up the front. There's a hood at the back that I've never noticed before, and inside the hood is a dark-red scarf; it looks strangely similar to the scarves that the Time Keepers used to wear, way back when we had first started out.
Zelda takes the scarf and ties it around her face so that it's loosely hanging around the lower half of her face, including her mouth. Then she lifts the hood above her head, concealing almost all of the rest of her face.
The way she looks now, the first word that comes into my mind is 'thug'. She looks the part of someone that would maul people in an alleyway. A dark green trenchcoat with sleeves that go way over her hands, a hood pulled over her eyes, a scarf tied around her face, dark green pants that look like they're made for dirty work, and even heavy-duty boots with laces that criss-cross all the way from the roof of the shoe to the very top of the leg. When she lifts her hand to pull out the C.T. crystal I had given her, I see that she's also wearing sleek black gloves that look like they're meant to deal with fires like this. It's almost as if she knew about the fire this whole time; that she knew to dress like this. She can't possibly dress like this every day. You'd sweat like crazy, and you'd be arrested under suspicion of being a crook.
"Tell me what to do, Link, and I'll do it," she tells me, a serious look growing on her face.
"Go look for the Osmonts," I tell her immediately. "They should be down there somewhere." I point to the dome-like building that once stood so high and proud, now falling to rubble. Some of it is still standing though; enough to give me hope that they may still be alive.
"You got it," she obeys, turning around to head in the direction where I pointed.
"W-Wait, Zelda. . .!"
She turns to look at me. "What?"
Why did I hesitate?
"Just. . . be careful," I reply. "Call me on your crystal if you get stuck or need my help."
"Of course. Thank you." And then she turns around and starts walking again, deeper into the burning waste of the Kalasian Palace.
Will she be alright on her own? I think. I can't help but worry about her; this is a really dangerous mission after all. Not only is this place nothing but flames, but the Society could also be here, or the Assassins; it was Mikoshi of the Assassins who told us about this in the first place, so it would make sense if they were putting us right into a trap.
Don't worry about her, Link, Dex tells me. She seems to have everything under control; you shouldn't underestimate her strength.
I sigh at Dex's words. If only I could actually see Zelda's true strength. I know she's hiding something. The aura-reading skills that Uzuki taught me tells me that much. I hate it when people keep secrets from me - even though I have a share of secrets of my own - because it makes me feel like they can't trust me. They should all be able to trust me. I haven't let them down in the past before, right?
But right now, I have to focus on the task at hand. Finding the Kai's, the Osmonts, and any other Angels that could have possibly survived this tragedy.
Before I head into the burning flames, I take my goggles that are loosely tied around my neck and place them over my eyes. If I go blind from the smoke, I'm screwed. After buttoning up my jacket, I start to walk through the coal-like ground, some of the ashes that are still ignited making sizzling sounds from the step of my boots. The ground is hot and stings the soles of my feet, but I have to keep going. Based on the heat of the ground, I know that the fire hit recently.
Which means that the attacker - if there was one - is possibly still here.
I head towards the main building that's still standing, the building that I'm sure is the throne room. As I walk through this burning place, flashbacks of when I was first here reel through my mind; cherry blossom trees, beautiful white buildings, blinding sunshine, stone walkways, laughing children, and the appearance of little fairies floating from the sky to the ground, like autumn leaves. All that's left of it now is ugly black ash-covered buildings, dusty black dirt, black smoke-filled skies, and embers flickering through the sky, falling to the ground. It's been completely transformed from my vision of heaven to my vision of hell.
When I make it to the main entrance of the building, I catch a glimpse of two guards laying on the ground, a pool of blood underneath the both of them, bits of fire catching onto their clothes. I look at where their blood is flowing from, and see that there are deep cuts in the both of them, nearly cutting them both in two. I hold back my nausea, and pray for their salvation in my mind as I continue on. Someone or something definitely attacked this place and these people; the wounds on those soldiers tell it all.
When I'm inside, it takes me a second to process the image in front of me as the throne room. It's been completely morphed into a burning room, the thrones ignited into flames and the beautiful red curtains on the stained glass windows now red with fire. I take another step forward, when I hear a bang from behind me. I look back to see a brick that had fallen from above, in the same spot where I had just been standing. Thank the Goddess Din I had moved then, otherwise I would have been killed. I have to get out of here soon, before the whole building collapses on top of me.
I keep an eye on the ceiling as I walk closer to the thrones, which I now realize are empty. Where could the King and Queen be?
As I get closer to the throne, I start to hear a strange sound from behind me. It's a shuffling sound, like somebody scraping their feet against the ground. I lash out a kunai with one hand from my belt bag as I twist around, ready to attack whoever it is that's sneaking up from behind me. But there's no one there.
Then I hear my name being called.
I look down to see Emily Kai dragging her body across the floor towards me, blood spilling from her body and creating a trail behind her. Her left arm is missing, and the white dress that she used to wear is now painted red with her own blood, most of it that I'm assuming came from her missing arm.
"Emily!" I cry as I put my kunai back into its holster. I run to her aid, getting down on my toes so I can examine her wounds more closely. "Your Highness, what happened?" I ask in a panic.
"L-Link. . . it's you. . ." she says in a cracked, weak voice. "I knew you'd come here. . . you've. . . gotten so much older. . ."
"Emily, can you tell me what happened here?" I ask again.
"Take a look around. . . all of this was. . . I saw it. . . I knew this was going to happen, but I just. . . didn't know when. . . we couldn't protect ourselves, Link. . ."
"Protect yourselves from what?" I choke out, ignoring the tears that are now streaming down my face like waterfalls.
"Someone. . . someone attacked our kingdom. . . killed everyone. . . and burned it down to the ground. . ."
"Do you know who it was?"
"I don't know. . . but he. . ." Emily tries to move closer, but falls to the ground. She coughs terribly, and blood starts to seep from her mouth.
"Don't push yourself, Emily!" I cry. "I'm right here, so there's no need to worry." How can I say that when she's like this? I think. Her chances of living are so slim now; it would be a miracle if I were to be able to save her now.
"Link. . . he's still here. . . you have to get out of here, before he finds you. . ." Emily continues after taking a few harsh breaths and regaining all the energy she has left. "I know that the Princess is here. . . you have to get her out of here. . .!"
How does she know I took Zelda with me? I think in surprise.
"Please, Link. . . I know it's a brazen request, but. . . if you happen to find my children. . . please. . . please help them, and take care of them. . . when I die. . . I don't want them to be all alone. . ."
"Don't say that, Emily! You're going to be fine! You're going to live and you're going to see Kurenai and Matsuda again!" I can barely get the sentence out with choking on my words.
"Tell them. . . that their mother and father love the both of them. . . and tell them to always stick together. . ."
"Tell them yourself!" I yell. "You can't just. . . you can't just die on me now! I barely even got to know you better! I only met you one day, and now you're just going to die like the others?"
"Facing death. . . takes more courage than you think. . ." she sighs. ". . . Thank you, Link, Hero of Time. . . seeing you today, I feel like I can rest in peace. . ."
She starts to lower her head to the ground, and I know that it's only a matter of time before she dies. "Emily! Get a hold of yourself!" I yell.
But it's too late.
She's already dead.
I watch as she becomes lifeless, her breathing disappearing and her chest sinking. My only wish is that she could have died peacefully; she looks peaceful though, like she's done the most important thing in her life. When it comes down to it, this is the first person I've actually witnessed dying. I've seen people get seriously injured and end up in near-death experiences, but I've never actually seen anyone die before. Especially at the hands of a murderer.
I have to find Kurenai and Matsuda now. It was Emily Kai's dying wish. I also have to find Samuel; even if he's dead as well, I can at least give both him and his wife a proper burial, along with his children, if they're gone as well.
I set my sights on the hallway where Samuel had talked to me for the first time; the Osmonts were down the other hallway, so I have to assume that the Kai's live down this hallway. At this point, all I can do is try.
I take one last look at Emily, and bow. It's a sign of respect in Hyrule, especially at funerals. It's only right to bow to those that have passed into the other world. What would happen to Emily's Soul anyways? She was an Angel to begin with, so would she just go to heaven? She probably died with a little bit of revenge in her heart, but I find it weird for an Angel to become a Reaper. And of course, I also find it weird for Emily to have any vengeful feelings at all; she was too nice, too proper for that. I continue to think about this as I begin my walk down the hallway towards where I'm guessing the Kai's house is. The problem with this hallway though is that it's narrow, and there's nowhere for the smoke to get out, so the smoke in here is a lot thicker than back in the throne room. I end up bending down to a hunch so that I don't break into coughing fits from all the smoke in here. The smoke also makes it harder to see where I'm going, so I grab the lantern that's attached to my belt and light it with a bit of fire magic; it's basically the only magic I can use in here. Water and ice would evaporate too fast, and those are the only two magic skills that I would ever think of using in a fire.
When the lantern is lit, I use it to guide myself through the thick smoke. It burns brightly, like a sun that's surrounded by black clouds, as I make my way to the first door in the hallway. That's another problem with this hallway; there are a lot of doors. I don't want to be searching in this place too long. It's too risky.
I press my hand against the smooth surface of the door. It's not hot at all. There must not be any flames in there. When I touch the knob, it doesn't burn my hand; but when I try to turn it and open the door, a cloud of black smoke bursts out into my face, filling the hallway even more with the contaminating gas. I don't even have enough time to get away before the smoke gets into my lungs and kills out my oxygen, causing me to let out a flurry of violent coughs, my throat dry and scratchy. I end up dropping my lantern to the ground so that I can get on my hands and knees and cough, my lungs desperate for clean air. After a few minutes of violent coughing and harsh breathing, I soon get enough oxygen back to satisfy my lungs. I stand back up, staying down on a hunch, and grabbing my lantern on the floor, its flame still burning brightly.
The smoke in the room has risen up above the floor, allowing me to walk inside and examine the area for any bodies. There are a few fallen beams from the ceiling, but after looking underneath all of them, I see that there isn't anyone in here. Which means that I have to go check the next room and most likely get another cloud of smoke explode in my face.
I leave the room behind, leaving the door open behind me in case I need to go back. I keep my pace through the hallway, staying hunched down low, even after my back and neck starts to ache from the pain of staying in this same position for so long.
When I make it to the next door and place my hand on it, I pull it away immediately before I get burned. I feel the urge to skip this room; the smoke would obviously be several times worse than it was in that last room, and I don't need to die from coughing. I kick the door once, for some reason that I don't understand, and continue on.
But something stops me.
I hear a knock back.
When I hear it, I stop and watch the door, waiting for another knock, in case my ears were just playing with me. But sure enough, there are more knocks, each one heavier than the last. Someone is in there, and they need help.
I run back to the door, and kick it with my foot again. I have no idea how they're dealing with the heat in that room, let alone just knocking on the door that's just as hot as it is out in the open. I hear someone talk to me this time.
"Help me!" the voice screams, and then breaks into coughing fits. It's a girl. Kurenai, maybe?
"Just a second, I'll get you out of there!" I yell back.
"Hurry!" she cries.
I grab the doorknob, but all the relief and panic from hearing her voice makes me forget that the doorknob is untouchable; it's even hotter than the door itself. My hand stings from the burning sensation, and I scold myself for being so stupid. My hand is probably burned now; at least it was my right hand, and not my left. But it was still stupid. I have to figure out some other way to get the door down.
I kick the door again, getting the girl's attention.
"Back away from the door! I'm going to kick it down!" I warn her.
"A-Alright!" she stammers. I wait a few moments, and then I hear something bang the door.
Has she actually moved? I think. I'll just have to assume that she's moved. . .
I back up from the door, setting my lantern down on the ground before charging at the door and kicking it as hard as I can. The door bursts open, and before the explosion of smoke can reach me, I fall onto my chest on the ground. . . right on top of the burning door.
Shit, that was smart, you dumbass! Dex swears at me as I leap to my feet from the hot door. Now my chest is going to burn. And now I'm up in the smoke again!
Ugh, dammit it all to hell! I end up in another coughing fit, this one worse than before, as I get down to the floor back out in the hallway, waiting for my coughing to cease itself.
"Hey, are you alright?" I hear the girl yell from behind me.
I look back to see Kurenai Kai dragging herself towards me, much like the way her mother was dragging herself around. She doesn't look all that beat up, just scared and covered in soot.
I cough a few more times and then take a few breaths. My lungs are stable again, but just barely. I can't let myself get caught in another smoke cloud like that again. If I do, then I'm screwed.
I crawl over to Kurenai. Then I notice that her legs got the worst of it. I don't think they're broken, but they're bruised up enough to prevent her from walking, which explains the dragging. "I'm so glad you're safe!" I cry in relief, brushing one of her bangs back to see if she has any head injuries. There's a deep cut on her forehead, and blood running down the side of her face and down her neck. Other than that, she still looks like the daughter of the Kai Royal Family that I met so many years ago.
"W-Who are you?" she stammers.
"Ah, right, you probably don't recognize me. . ." I mutter. "I'm sorry. I'm Link. Do you remember me? I came here one time, years ago. You were still a young child back then. I was the boy in the green tunic."
She stares at me for a few moments, and then makes what looks like a smile.
"The one in the tunic. . . now I remember. . . that's right, you were delivering a package to the Osmonts that day," she answers. "I thought you had just come as a delivery boy that one time; and yet here you are, saving me. I can never thank you enough."
"Worry about the thanks later," I stop her. "Right now we need to get out of here."
"I-I'm sorry. . . I can't walk. . ."
"That's fine, I can carry you." I stand up a little further, enough so that I can carefully ease my hands underneath her legs and shoulders to lift her up, her light body draped over my arms like cloth. She's much lighter than I thought; at least I won't have to worry about being slowed down. Kurenai starts to close her eyes, which sets off a brief panic in my mind, but after feeling a slow wave of breathing go through her body, my mind is put at ease.
I've saved Kurenai, but what of Matsuda and the Osmonts? I have to find them as well, dead or alive.
It's hard to navigate through this smoke, now that my hands are occupied by holding Kurenai. It's tied to the back of my belt, but the light from behind me isn't as strong as it was from in front. I'll just have to do my best to pay attention and watch where I'm going.
Dex, I think. I need your help, buddy.
What is it? Dex replies.
I can't see one meter in front of me, I reply. Can you lead the way?
Sure, leave it to me.
After only a few brief seconds, my vision has sharpened, the clouds of smoke around me becoming clearer, as if I was looking through crystal-clear ice. Dex's vision is something I always rely on during situations like these; although, situations like these don't come up very often, so his vision is something that I always have to get used to when I start using it.
I turn around, heading in the direction from where I came, but the panic sets in again when I see that the stone beams from above have fallen and blockaded the way. Normally, I could just crawl through, but I have Kurenai with me, and I don't think I'd want to risk it. And I don't have the type of strength like Yashiro does to just lift the beams and move them aside; and the last thing I want to do is call the Reapers for help. They have no idea that I'm here, and I don't want them to know about it anytime soon. Of course, when I come home with a nearly dead body and possibly even more nearly dead bodies, I'm going to have quite a bit of explaining to do.
But where do I go now? I think. I don't want to go the other way; I don't have the luxury or the time to go exploring and find another way out.
"Kurenai," I whisper, awakening her from her slumber. She opens her eyes halfway to look at me. "Is there any other way out of here? The main hallway is impassable."
She tilts her neck slightly to look at the blockaded path, and then looks back at me.
"There is. . . a secret passage. It's accessible from my father's room. . ." she replies in a weak and tired voice.
"Where's your father's room?" I ask.
"It's the last room at the end of this hallway."
"That's perfect. Thank you."
Kurenai nods slightly, and then drifts off into her sleep again.
I stare ahead, further down the hallway. It's the only way I can go now; so I might as well go. Right now, I have to get Kurenai to safety, and any other surviving Angels as well. Then I remember that Zelda is here, looking for the Osmonts. I have to believe in her as well.
An Interlude
Zelda kicks aside another dead body as she walks down the hallway leading to the Osmonts' main room.
"Ugh. . . so many dead people. . ." she scoffs to herself. "He said it was going to be bad, but I never imagined it would be like this. . ."
You can never be too sure with Mikoshi-kun, a voice inside her head snickers. He did warn you; you just didn't listen.
"We'll never find any survivors in this mess," Zelda says aloud, replying to the voice in her head. She sees another dead body in her path, and shoves it aside with her foot.
Don't forget that they're Angels, the voice laughs. I wonder if they could pull off any resurrecting tricks.
Zelda snickers back to the joke as she continues to shove bodies out of the way.
"Who do you think did this anyway?" Zelda asks herself, or rather, the voice in her head.
Beats me. Maybe a few Fallen Angels out for revenge; their clan was recently destroyed, remember? They automatically blamed the Angels for the destruction of their kingdom.
"Yes, but it was a different person behind that. It may have been the same person who attacked this place."
The Society?
"No. . . the air here feels different. . . I'd be able to tell immediately if it was the Society, but something in the air here tells me otherwise."
So you rely on the air for information? The voice laughs. You're letting Makoto's madness rub off on you; Rei's too.
"Just trust me for once," Zelda mutters. "There's something here that's far more dangerous than one member of the Society. . ."
. . . Two members of the Society? Three? One hundred? The voice laughs again.
Zelda rolls her eyes. "Something worse than the Society itself. Shut up with the jokes, I'm getting sick of them. This is serious. There's been a lot of weird things happening lately; two of Hyrule's oldest civilizations don't just blow up into flames in a month. Somebody is behind this attack; and it's not the Society. They're too busy dealing with how to get Link right now. Nothing good would come out of killing the Angels and the Fallen Angels. That's just stupid and a waste of time."
Suit yourself, I've got no thoughts on this at all, the voice sighs. Right now, we have to see if there are any survivors; for Link's sake, as well as our own.
"Yes. If it came down to it, we could all be blamed for this; we're not exactly friends with Hyrule's government and military."
We don't need Makoto-kun to land in jail again either, the voice snickers. And if you think that's a joke - it is; but it's also not. If all of us ended up in jail, you would probably get the worst of it; penalty of death for harboring criminals, deceiving the kingdom of Hyrule, collaborating with criminals, fighting back to Hyrule's military, etcetera. . .
"I don't need you to remind me of that," Zelda replies with harshness in her voice. "I know full well the consequences of what I'm doing; I knew what I was getting myself into when I joined Makoto and the others."
The voice doesn't reply. Zelda smiles to herself once before stopping in front of a door. She looks around once, before lifting her foot and knocking the door down in one swift kick, not bothering to test the doorknob first. The door falls to the floor, bearing escape for the giant cloud of smoke from the other side. Zelda runs to the side of the door quickly, evading the explosion, and then ducks before all the smoke settles near the ceiling and gets into her throat. Staying in her crouched position, she sneaks into the small room, immediately spotting another dead body. There are several of them, a lot of them laying on top of each other in a pile.
"There are so many of them. . ." Zelda mutters to herself in sadness. She stares at the pile of bodies, staring down every single one with grief in her eyes. "There can't possibly be any survivors in this mess. . . it's just not-"
"H-Help me!"
Zelda spins around to see a little boy, running away from a swarm of flaming Keese. The boy spots Zelda immediately, and grabs her arm as he's running past her. Zelda pulls back on him, stopping him from his escape.
"Get rid of those things!" the boy cries as he points to the swarm of Keese that are getting closer to them, the little bat bodies encased in hot flames.
Zelda rolls her eyes, a sigh escapign her as she rips out her sword from the sheath hidden underneath her trenchcoat, and in one swing, slashes all the Keese to death at once. They all fall to the ground, the flames dispersing, and their bodies turning into twilight and disappearing into the air.
Zelda turns around to see the boy shaking and crying in his spot behind her, tears running down his face.
"For Goddesses' sake, kid, they're just a bunch of Keese," Zelda groans. "Nothing to be afraid of! Quit crying!"
The boy looks up at her, and sniffles.
"Come on, get rid of those tears! Boys don't cry, now do they? Wipe off that stupid baby face.""
The boy sniffles again, and then wipes away his tears with his sleeve. His clothes, which probably used to be white considering that's the style of clothing the Angels wear, is now covered with ash and dust, and looks like it's been burned in a few places with fire.
"Now, tell me your name," Zelda demands without changing her strict expression.
"M-Matsuda. . . Matsuda Kai. . ." the boy stammers, still a little emotional from the crying.
"A Kai? Why are you over here in the Osmont's building?"
"I-I was going to see Maximillian and his family. . . but then. . . this happened. . ." He blubbers a little bit, and then he starts to cry again. "T-They're all dead!"
"And you're the only survivor?"
"I-I don't know. . . My sister! Where's Kurenai? Oh no, she can't be dead too. . . ! If she's dead, I don't know what I'll-"
Zelda hits Matsuda over the top of his head, grabbing his attention. "Shut up and get ahold of yourself! I'm sure your sister is fine, but if you keep crying about it, you're going to be the one in trouble, not her! Now man up!"
Matsuda wipes his tears away for the second time.
"Now, can you tell me how long ago this happened?" Zelda asks, a little calmer so that she doesn't scare him further.
Matsuda sniffles a bit more until he regains himself, replying, "I think it was a half-hour ago. . . all I remember is that this place burst into flames all at once, and then after I left the room to look for any other survivors, those bats started chasing me!"
"A half-hour ago, huh?" Zelda says, as she looks up at the ceiling. The attacker could possibly still be here, she thinks. I have to find Link and get out of here, immediately.
"Can you run fast?" Zelda asks Matsuda He looks up at her with his tear-streaked face, and shakes his head.
"I've never been a really fast runner. . ." Matsuda says in a quivering voice. "B-But I can fly. I only have my child wings, but I can still fly. . ."
"Only child wings? Hmm. . . I guess it's the only choice we have at this point. Alright, if you can fly, then fly. We need to get out of here, and meet up with Link. He may have found your parents, and possibly your sister."
"Link?" Matsuda asks. "Why do I recognize that name?"
"I'll explain later," Zelda mutters. "Quit standing around and get those Angel wings out so we can get out of here."
"Oh, r-right, sorry," Matsuda stammers. After a few moments of standing still, Angel wings sprout from his back. But they're not the type of Angel wings that most Angels are deemed of having, with white feathers that spread out wide from their backs; instead, the wings are very transluscent, almost completely transparent, and each feather is separate of each other. Each feather is a pretty color, from deep purple to light blues, and they sparkle with a sort of strange radiance that Zelda had never seen before. Matsuda slowly floats up from the ground as his wings begin to flutter softly, and he flies up higher, above Zelda's head.
"There's an exit up there, through the roof," Zelda instructs, pointing up at the huge, gaping hole that had collapsed much earlier. "You fly up there, I'll catch up to you."
"How are you going to-"
"Just go, kid!"
Matsuda stares at her a little in disbelief, but then flies up through the exit, disappearing into the smoke-filled sky.
Zelda examines the area surrounding her for a few moments, locating all the fallen beams, piles of rubble, and broken windows in the large dome-like room. Four broken windows, she calculates to herself. Two on each left and right side of the room. Six beams down; one leaning against the second broken window on the right side.
Zelda, hurry up and make a decision before this building falls down on top of us! the other voice in her head yells angrily.
Shut up and leave this to me, Zelda replies. She snaps her knuckles before charging at one of the fallen beams, leaping onto the structure, and then jumping onto the windowsill next to it. Taking only a second to think of what to do next, she leaps towards one of the red veils that are hanging from the ceiling that isn't actually on fire, and grabs it with her gloved hands, her fingers grasping the soft fabric as she swings and lands onto another fallen beam. She climbs up the beam like a monkey, and when she reaches the top, she takes a final jump, grabbing onto the ledge of the hole in the ceiling, and then hoists herself up onto the roof outside. She looks up to see Matsuda floating just above where she's standing.
"Good, you're still here," Zelda snickers. "Let's get moving. We have to meet up with Link."
While Matsuda flies through the air, Zelda trails shortly behind him, leaping across the rooftops and over the holes and flames.
Now we just have to meet up with Link, Zelda thinks. Hopefully the idiot hasn't gotten into any trouble. . .
Chapter 9 (continued)
Holy hell, I am in trouble.
First of all, Kurenai has fainted. I'm hoping it's nothing serious; it may just be due to the loss of blood from her legs and all the burns that she has. But it makes me wish that Shuto or Uzuki were here; at least they know a lot more about medical situations like these than I do.
Second, I'm in a maze of secret underground passages that are supposed to lead me out of the castle, and I know that because the passages are underground, the whole system could collapse on me from the fire up above. With Kurenai unconscious, I can't ask her the way out of here. And I'm not even sure she'd know the way; she may have never had the opportunity to go through here. It's all just so risky.
I continue to walk forward through the stone-walled tunnels, my heart racing in fear of this place falling down on me; every so often, I can hear a thump from above, and it makes me jump, my fear rising even higher every time.
This place just seems to go on and on forever, and I'm starting to have my doubts as to whether I'll be outside the castle, or outside of Hyrule. It may just be my impatience that's making this walk seem so long. I'm also weighed down by Kurenai; if I could run out of here at full speed, I'd be out of here in less than a second. But I can't leave Kurenai behind either, and it's not like she can walk on her own with her leg injuries. I just have to keep walking and hope that I get out of here soon, in one piece.
I'm glad for the silence in here though. All I can hear is Kurenai's breathing, my own breathing, the sound of water dripping from the ceiling and onto the stone ground, and the sound of the odd rat scurrying by. I don't have to hear the sound of flames burning, beams falling from the ceiling, or the horrible sound of extreme coughing when I get a huge cloud of smoke blown in my face.
After a few more minutes of walking, a wave of relief washes over me when I see a stairwell at the end of the tunnel, a thin line of light shining above it. I make my way up the stone stairs, and when I reach the top, I realize that the light has only formed a line because it's seeping through the crack of the closed door at the top of the stairs. There's a strip of thick fabric nailed to the door. I grab the fabric, and push with my right shoulder, the door slowly but successefully opening and revealing the smoky light of the outside world. Thankfully, all the smoke has risen above into the clouds, so I don't get a heaping amount of smoke in my face, but because of the smoke and the flames, its begun to rain; acid rain. Of course, acid rain is the least of my worries right now. I have to meet up with Zelda and see if she found anyone else that survived.
When I reach the spot where Zelda and I had split up, I'm just in time to see Zelda walking out from the innards of the castle, a much younger boy walking behind her. It must be Matsuda; he hasn't changed a bit. I wave at Zelda, signalling for her to come over. She starts to walk towards me, but she only makes it halfway when she's stopped by something. Her neck snaps in a different direction, where she sees a shadowy figure of somebody standing on one of the castle ruins. A very thin blade suddenly fires out, and before Zelda can react, she's struck right in the arm, blood flying out from her skin. Matsuda screams. I scream.
Before I can process what just happened, the boy switches his gaze to me, and charges.
